Ancelotti confident ahead of United test

November 8, 2009


Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti knows his first Premier League clash with Manchester United will provide the acid test of his title credentials, but he believes the champions have weaknesses that can be exploited in Sunday’s summit meeting.

Ancelotti’s side have become the top pick to win the English crown after an impressive start under the Italian suggested he has recaptured the magic missing from Stamford Bridge since Jose Mourinho’s departure.

But Ancelotti is well aware that only when he has emerged unscathed from a head to head duel with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will he truely be able to feel like a major player in the Premier League. Related article: Ferguson snubbed overseas offers

The likes of Mourinho and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger earned their stripes – and Ferguson’s grudging admiration – by defeating United in individual matches and then the title race.

Now Ancelotti, whose side are two points clear of second placed United, must do the same.

While most of Ferguson’s managerial opponents will inevitably suffer from an inferiority complex when they compare their achievements with the Scot’s, Ancelotti can draw inspiration from his previous battles with United.

He has knocked Ferguson out of the Champions League twice during his time with AC Milan, with the 2007 semi-final rout at the San Siro a particularly fond memory, and has won a Community Shield penalty shoot-out against United in August.

The Blues chief believes Sunday’s match will go his way as well if Chelsea take advantage of the flaws in Ferguson’s defence and midfield.

United, who haven’t won at the Bridge since 2002, were unusually timid in their 2-0 defeat at Liverpool two weeks ago and their porous defence has conceded 11 goals already in the league this season.

And, with England defender Rio Ferdinand ruled out with a back injury, Ancelotti suspects Chelsea maybe able to expose United’s soft centre in the same way as Liverpool.

“Liverpool played a fantastic match (against United), a strong match and put a lot of pressure on. That’s why they won,” Ancelotti said.

“They didn’t give United any possibility to play like they want to play. It was a good lesson for us because Manchester can suffer when there’s pressure on their midfielders.

“I think Ferdinand is a very good defender. Without Ferdinand they lose something.

“But I don’t want to work just against other team’s weaknesses. We want to put our own qualities on the pitch.

“The best thing is to maintain a balance. They have fantastic strikers. Wayne Rooney is one of the most intelligent strikers in the world.”

Ferguson will hope the return to fitness of Serbia centre-back Nemanja Vidic shores up a defence that conceded three times against CSKA Moscow in midweek, while Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov could feature after a knee injury.

The United manager, who can point to a famous 1999 Champions League victory over Ancelotti’s Juventus as proof that he doesn’t need to fear the Italian, has seen Chelsea bosses Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink fail to overthrow United in recent years.

But he admits Ancelotti could pose the biggest threat to his supremacy since Mourinho’s departure.

“I thought Ancelotti would do well,” he said. “He was a great coach at AC Milan. He won the European Cup twice and brought a wealth of experience with him to Chelsea.

“He was also a great player so he has a lot of knowledge. He brought a different system to the ones Chelsea have used in the past.

“It has maybe been easier to adapt tactics because they have very experienced players, who have more tactical knowledge than the younger ones. It seems to have worked well.”

Even though there is plenty at stake on Sunday, Ancelotti has no intention of being an unwelcoming host and will share a bottle of red wine with Ferguson whatever the result.

“We drank red wine after we drew in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Juventus against United,” he said. “United equalised in the last minute and I was a bit angry. But after the red wine it was better!”

LONDON (AFP)

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Juve win is the goal, insists Bayern´s van Gaal

September 30, 2009


Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal insists his goal is to win all five of the Germans’ remaining Champions League group stage matches – starting with main Group A rivals Juventus on Wednesday.

Bayern missed out on the chance to claim top spot in the Bundesliga on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 at Hamburg, but while the German league defeat left van Gaal in a bad mood, a win over Juventus would keep his side top of their Champions League group.

“My work continues, my task is to win this game and every group stage match,” said the Dutchman.

The Italians warmed up for their trip to Bavaria with a 1-1 draw against Bologna in Serie A at the weekend, but there are genuine concerns in the Munich defence.

Van Gaal has an embarrassment of riches in attack with Germany forwards Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose competing with Croatia’s Ivica Olic for the lone striker position flanked by wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

But things are not so solid in defence, particularly at right and left back.

In Hamburg, Brazil’s Breno was used on the right with Philipp Lahm used on the left, but without success.

So far, new signings Daniel Pranjic and Edson Braafheid have not fulfilled expectations and only centre-back Daniel van Buyten is producing consistent good form while Bayern are missing Brazil’s Lucio who was sold to Inter Milan in the summer.

The Germans will have their hands full containing Juventus’ attack including Vicenzo Iaquinta, David Trezeguet and former Werder Bremen play-maker Diego in what will be the acid test of Munich’s credentials as Group A winners.

The sides experienced mixed fortunes in their opening games, Bayern winning 3-0 at Maccabi Haifa FC while Juve drew 1-1 at home against Bordeaux.

With goalkeeper Michael Rensing dropped in favour of veteran Hans-Joerg Butt, Bayern at least have stability between the posts.

Butt is still sporting a prominent black eye, the result of a collision with Gomez in training prior to the Hamburg defeat.

“Nothing?s broken,” the keeper reported, although he had to have seven stitches to a cut, received treatment right up until kick-off, and slept on his side to avoid further swelling.

Despite the shiner, Butt turned in a fine display against the league leaders and saved his side from going behind on 31 minutes with two world-class saves, but the 35-year-old was powerless to prevent Mladen Petric? late winner.

Another stern test awaits Butt and his defenders on Wednesday and Butt insists concentration will be the key.

“When top teams meet, you?re punished for the smallest error,” he said with Bayern seventh in the Bundesliga while Juventus are only second to leaders Sampdoria in Serie A.

MUNICH (AFP)

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Fergie hungry to make amends for Roman ruin

August 14, 2009


Sir Alex Ferguson insists there will be no hangover from Manchester United’s crushing Champions League final defeat as his side begin life without Cristiano Ronaldo in their Premier League opener against Birmingham on Sunday.

Ferguson admitted in the close-season that the pain of May’s defeat to Barcelona in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico took a long while to ease as he relaxed with his family on holiday in the south of France.

Yet he is convinced his players will be more than capable of putting it behind them as well as adapt to being without the talismanic Ronaldo in the wake of his 80 million pounds world record move to Real Madrid in June.

Few teams could cope with such a loss, but Ferguson admits he is excited at the young talent emerging at Old Trafford and curious to discover how United tackle another season of challenges without Portugal international Ronaldo – their leading goalscorer for the past two seasons.

Ferguson said: “There can’t afford to be (a hangover). You just have to move on and it’s a new season and a fresh challenge.

“We have some good young players here who all want to do well. That gives me great encouragement.

“We still have a very good young squad. Some of the young players are developing very well and I’m quite happy with what we’ve got.

“I hope the young players can learn from the more experienced ones and from what they have achieved.

“They have the right motivation to achieve and that’s the value of having players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville here.

“Probably most of the players expected Cristiano Ronaldo to leave at some point so it wasn’t a big shock to them.

“The problem now is how we progress as a team, in a different shape, different way to when he was here. It’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Ferguson believes facing newly-promoted Birmingham will be the acid test of whether or not the club was right to prepare for the new campaign with a long trip to the Far East as well as a mini-tournament in Munich.

“I’ve never noticed any decline in the motivation of the players,” he said.

“Pre-season has gone very well and we should have won the Charity Shield and done better in Munich, but these games had a good edge to them and now Sunday will prove to be the acid test of whether or not the pre-season was the right one.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

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Wenger´s youngster face acid test against Roma

February 24, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal’s Champions League showdown with AS Roma will provide the acid test of his young team’s ability to compete at the highest level.

The Gunners face Roma in the first leg of their last 16 tie at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday and Wenger knows his gamble of fielding so many youngsters this season could come back to haunt him against the Italians.

Long-term injuries to Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky have left Wenger especially short of options in midfield.

That lack of experience is a major concern against a Roma team who can flood the midfield battle-ground with a potent mix of skill and power.

To make matters worse for Wenger, new signing Andrei Arshavin is ineligible after playing for Zenit St Petersburg earlier in the competition.

Wenger has little choice but to put his faith in the likes of Alexandre Song, Denilson and Aaron Ramsey and hope they can rise to the occasion.

"When you play against Roma you know there is one battle you cannot lose and that is in midfield because that is their strong point," Wenger said.

"They play with a congested midfield and with a lot of short passing on the ground. If you lose that battle, you will be second best.

"Denilson will have an important part to play in the Roma game. I am surprised how little credit he has got for what he has delivered since the start of the season.

"He does not talk too much, but he is very efficient. If you look at the numbers and the amount of balls he wins, he is one of the top midfield players in the country on many indexes."

With a daunting trip to the Stadio Olympico for the second leg awaiting the Gunners, anything less than a victory will leave them in danger of elimination.

But Wenger is more concerned with avoiding the concession of a potentially vital away goal.

"The weight of the away goal is massive," he said. "It has become too important. When you draw 0-0 at home, the team you play away has absolutely to score, so they come at you."

After Saturday’s goal-less draw against Sunderland at the Emirates, Arsenal have now gone three league matches without scoring.

That barren run has Arsenal six points adrift of the top four and in danger of missing out on Champions League football next season.

Wenger, who is likely to be without strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Eduardo against Roma, concedes his team’s spluttering form is taking its toll on their morale and making them rush at key moments.

"The attitude is very good among the players but in the final third we are not as efficient as we could be," Wenger said.

"Our passing is sometimes not incisive enough. Maybe the strikers are not alerted quickly enough. We were not quick or relaxed enough and, overall, it’s difficult."

Roma qualified for the knockout stages top of their group ahead of Chelsea, who they beat 3-1 at home.

Despite that, Luciano Spalletti’s side, who defeated Siena 1-0 at the weekend, are 16 points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan and regarded as outsiders for success in Europe.

Yet Wenger has no intention of underestimating any side containing the likes of Francesco Totti, Philippe Mexes and Daniele De Rossi.

"They’re a strange side," Wenger said. "They like to do well against the good teams in Italy, so we must be cautious."

Another familiar face in the Roma line-up could be Brazil’s Julio Baptista, who spent part of last season on loan at Arsenal.

Baptista knows how hard it will be to get past Arsenal. "The game against Arsenal is going to be tough but we will be ready."

Written by: AFP

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McCulloch relieved as Rangers cast aside gloom over Ibrox

February 14, 2009

GLASGOW, Feb 14, 2009 (AFP) – Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch feared the worst when his cash-strapped club announced that a host of players would be sold in the January transfer window, but Walter Smith’s side are firmly back in the title race heading into Sunday’s showdown against Celtic.

It was doom and gloom at Ibrox as key men Kris Boyd, Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor were linked with big-money moves to English teams.

But despite all the speculation, Smith?s first-team squad was left virtually untouched and McCulloch believes the whole experience will have made the group stronger in their bid to land a first league title in four years.

Rangers are now just two points behind Celtic and could reach the summit of the table with a win at the home of their bitter rivals this weekend.

That result will, McCulloch accepts, have huge significance but perhaps not as much as when the transfer window slammed shut at 1700GMT on February 1.

"The speculation played in a lot of the players’ minds and I’m sure a lot of them were just happy when the window closed." he said

"The way it’s been going off the pitch has been difficult, but we have stuck by our job on the pitch pretty well. The stuff that’s written or said seems to have passed, for a while anyway.

"I think belief has been crucial. We’ve had to ignore a lot of the things that are being said. We have gained a mental strength from the start of the season which has been needed.

"You could say that?s what we perhaps lacked last season and why we didn’t win the league."

Since losing to Celtic at Ibrox at the end of December, Rangers have rediscovered their form and a six-match unbeaten run has seen them crank up the pressure on the leaders.

That sequence of results was produced in the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding the club but now comes the acid test for Smith’s improving side.

McCulloch, 30, added: "They are favourites to win as it’s a very difficult place to go. They are a quality team and have won the championship three times in a row. But we will go there and do our best.

"You don’t want to go and lose but it wouldn’t be over if we did. It would be close to being over, but there would still be a lot of big games to play.

"We want to try and go there and win. They have got the mental strength that we’re slowly starting to get."

While McCulloch, who has played in a variety of positions this season, is a battle-hardened veteran, Rangers team-mate John Fleck is starting out on his career.

The 17-year-old has started just four games but is already being tipped for a bright future and could be handed a first Old Firm start on Sunday.

"I think he’s ready to play in the Old Firm game, he’s certainly good enough," McCulloch said. "He has been like a new signing for us but I just hope we don’t get carried away with him.

"The management and the players won’t but it’s whether the press start making him out to be the next Wayne Rooney or not. He has got a long way to go before reaching that level as he’s just started four games.

"With regards to playing for Scotland, it’s up to the manager but I would say he is good enough. He is a quality player and the more games he gets, the better he will become."

Written by: AFP

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